Although it is set on the flanks of Mount Rainier and drains north to Puget Sound, Lewis County's Mineral Lake is usually considered along with other southwest region lakes. Mineral Lake has a long-time reputation for turning out behemoth trout, including fish in excess of 10 pounds in recent years. It opens on the traditional last Saturday in April, and by then, the water has usually warmed enough to kick into high gear the metabolisms of its hatchery and carry-over trout. In recent years, around 30,000 rainbows have been planted annually, about half of them from net pens. Mineral also receives about 5,000 brown trout, many of which escape harvest and become carryover bruisers, as well as a few hundred rainbow brood trout.

Flyfishers turn out in large numbers at Merrill Lake, a fly-only water north of Cougar, and on the upper North Fork of the Lewis, which is a catch-and-release, selective fishery during the June through October season. Coldwater Lake, the fjord-like body of water created by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, is open year 'round under selective fishery (with electric motors legal), with a limit of one fish over 16 inches.

Although it isn't widely known outside the region, the Cowlitz River is the only river in Washington that still has a hatchery sea-run cutthroat program, which provides excellent fishing during September and October between Blue Creek and I-5.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
Though most Evergreen State anglers associate central Washington with rainbow trout, the middle third of the state has produced five state-record trout in recent years, and only one was a rainbow. The record 18-pound Lahontan cutthroat came from Omak Lake in 1993. Lake Chelan produced a 35-pound lake trout in 2001, a record 3.9-pound golden was caught in an un-named Okanogan lake in 2002, and Grant County's Crab Creek gave up a record 2-pound tiger trout (brown/eastern hybrid) in 2003. The rainbow record is a 29-pound triploid taken in Rufus Woods Lake in 2002. Clearly, the middle part of the state has a lot going for it when it comes to growing big trout, most likely a combination of abundant nutrients and minerals, productive alkaline water, and a lot of sunshine.

Of course, in central Washington you have a much better chance for a pan-sized trout than a trophy, and during early spring, the lakes and ponds in the Columbia Basin's Grant and Adams counties probably turn out more than anyplace in the state. Potholes Reservoir, which sprawls over more than 4,000 acres, receives around 150,000 catchable rainbows annually and is very productive during the early season. Many light- tackle and fly anglers, however, prefer the Seep Lakes, those dozens of shallow stillwaters downstream of the reservoir. Several years ago, the WDFW delayed the openers on many of these lakes from their traditional March 1 date to late April or May, arguing that warmer water temperatures actually produced more predictable opening-day fishing.

A number of lakes remain open. Among them are Beda, Brookies Lakes, Burke, the Caliche Lakes Chain, Cascade, Cliff, Crystal, Cup, Dot, Dusty, George and Homestead.

The Lenice Lake Chain (including Merry and Nunnally) has become hallowed ground for Seattle-area flyfishers. It opens March 1, with selective fishery regulations and bag limit of one fish daily. March 1 is also the opening day of the catch-and-release season on Lenore Lake, and you can retain one of its Lahontan cutthroats after June 1. Dry Falls Lake opens April 1 under selective fishery regulations, with a one-fish bag and remains open through November. Anglers willing to wait until the third Saturday of April have an excellent chance at hatchery rainbows in the Park Lake Chain, which is in Sun Lakes State Park and includes Park, Blue and Deep lakes.